Secondary Education Certificate Examination Regulations, 2005

B

L.N. 188 of 2005

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Secondary Education Certificate Examination Regulations, 2005

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 30 (5) and

31 (6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of

Malta has promulgated the following Regulations made by the Senate of the

University of Malta by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by sections 31

and 35 of the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These regulations may be cited as the Secondary Education Certificate

Examination Regulations, 2005.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

“the Examination” means the Secondary Education Certificate Examination;

and

“the MATSEC Board” means the Matriculation and Secondary Education

Certificate Examinations Board.

(3) The MATSEC Board retains to itself the interpretation of the

regulations and syllabuses relating to its examinations.

Applicability

(1) These regulations shall apply to the Examination held from 1 st

January 2005 onwards.

(2) The Examination shall also be subject to the Conduct of the

Matriculation and Secondary Education Certificate Examinations Regulations, 1996,

published as Legal Notice 62 of 1996, and to any other relevant statutes, regulations

_

and bye-laws of the University.

Sessions and Time-Tables

There shall be two sessions of the Examination: the First Session shall be

held during the period April to June, and the Supplementary Session shall be held in

September of each year.

Subjects of the Examination

(1) In the First Session the subjects offered shall be the following

Accounting, Arabic, Art, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Classical Culture

and Civilisation, Commerce, Computer Studies, Economics, English Language,

English Literature, Environmental Studies, European Studies, French, Geography,

German, Greek, History, Home Economics, Italian, Latin, Maltese, Mathematics,

Physical Education, Physics, Religious Knowledge, Russian, Social Studies,

Spanish, Technical Design (Graphical Communication/Technology), and Textiles

and Design.

(2) In the Supplementary Session, subject to the provisions of paragraphs

(3) and (4) of regulation 5, the subjects offered shall be the following

English Language, Maltese, Mathematics, and, subject to the provisions of

paragraphs (3) and (4) of regulation 5, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Choice of Subjects

(1) No subject may be taken in both the Secondary Education Certificate

Examination and the Matriculation Certificate Examination at Advanced or

Intermediate Level at the same session.

(2) Candidates may not sit for the examination in Business Studies with any

of Accounting, Commerce, and Economics in the same session.

(3) Candidates may register for the Supplementary Session only if, in

the First Session, they have obtained Grade 6 or below, or were absent in any

of the subjects offered in the Supplementary Session, except for Biology,

Chemistry and Physics which are regulated by paragraph (4) of this regulation.

(4) In the Supplementary Session, candidates may sit for only one

examination in either Biology, or Chemistry or Physics, provided that they shall not

be eligible to sit for the examination in any of these three subjects if they had

already obtained Grade 5 or better in any one of them.

Structure of Examination Papers

(1) In all subjects, the Examination shall consist of two papers, each of two

hours' duration: Paper I and Paper II.

(2) The papers shall be structured as follows

(a) Paper I shall be the core paper to be taken by all candidates registered for

the examination in the subject, and may include an oral/aural/coursework/practical

component; and

(b) Paper IIA comprises more demanding questions than those in Paper IIB.

(3) Candidates shall be required to indicate on their application form which

of Paper IIA or Paper IIB they wish to sit for.

(4) In the Supplementary Session, only Paper I and Paper IIB shall be

offered.

Grades

(1) Grades shall be awarded on a seven-point scale, according to the

criteria laid down in paragraph (2) of this regulation. Grade 1 shall be awarded for

the highest level of achievement, whereas Grade 7 indicates the minimum

satisfactory performance.

(2) Grades shall be awarded in accordance with the following criteria

Grade 1: Indicates an overall excellent grasp of the subject and the level of

attainment is that expected of the ablest candidates.

Grade 2: Indicates a very high level of achievement overall.

Grade 3: Indicates a high level of achievement but falls below this level in

certain sections of the examination.

Grade 4: Indicates a good overall level.

Grade 5: Indicates a good level, but not overall, and is the minimum level

acceptable for further studies in the subject.

Grade 6: Indicates a general grasp of the subject but not a sufficiently deep

understanding of it.

Grade 7: Indicates a low level of attainment, and is the minimum certificate

grade.

(3) Candidates sitting for Paper I and Paper IIA may qualify for Grade 1, 2,

3, 4 or 5. The results of candidates who do not obtain at least Grade 5 shall remain

unclassified and shall be denoted as U.

(4) Candidates sitting for Paper I and Paper IIB may qualify for Grade 4, 5,

6 or 7. The results of candidates who do not obtain at least Grade 7 shall remain

unclassified and shall be denoted as U.

Registration

(1) Only candidates who have completed their studies in Form V of

secondary education or who attain the age of sixteen by 31 December of the year of

examination shall be allowed to register for the Examination.

(2) Registration for the First Session of the Examination, on the appropriate

application form and accompanied by the relevant fee, must be made by the closing

date as published in the notice for registration. Applications submitted after the

closing date but by the published date for late applications shall be accepted if an

additional fee is paid.

(3) The Registrar may, at his discretion, accept applications for registration

for the First Session at a later date against the payment of a further additional fee.

(4) Registration for the Supplementary Session shall be made during the

week following the publication of the First Session results. Candidates shall be

allowed to register for the Supplementary Session only if they had also registered for

the First Session of the examination and subject to the provisions of paragraphs (3)

and (4) of regulation 5.

(5) The Registrar may, at his discretion, accept late applications for the

Supplementary Session after the closing date if an additional fee is paid.

(6) Alterations to the application form may only be made by the candidates

subject to the same conditions and additional fees applicable for late registration.

Enquiries upon Results

The marking of papers and the results shall be final and binding on all

candidates, and the MATSEC Board shall not, except in its absolute discretion, enter

into correspondence about results with candidates or their parents or any other

person.

Revision of Examination Papers

(1) In terms of regulation 6 of the University Examinations Regulations,

candidates who are not satisfied with the grade awarded to them in any of the

subjects for which they sat, may request a revision of their examination scripts,

within the period specified by the MATSEC Board and against a fee as determined

by the University.

(2) The revised result shall be final.

Certificates

(1) A certificate showing the grade obtained in each subject, together

with the criteria for the award of the grade as laid down in paragraph (2) of

regulation 7, shall be issued once only to candidates who obtain a grade from 1 to 7.

(2) An authenticated copy of the result may be obtained from the

MATSEC Support Unit against a fee as determined by the University.

Conduct during the Examination

(1) Conduct during the Examination shall be governed by the statutes,

regulations and bye-laws of the University in force at the time of the examination.

(2) Candidates shall not be allowed into an examination room after the

first half hour of the examination, and they shall not be allowed to leave the

examination room, temporarily or permanently, during the first half hour and during

the last quarter of an hour of an examination.

(3) Mobile phones, books, note-books and any other unauthorised aids to

the examination (including electronic aids) must be left outside the examination

room or delivered to the invigilator before the examination questions are distributed.

(4) Candidates shall be provided with one or more examination booklets,

which must be filled in accordance with the directions printed on the cover of the

booklet. No part of an examination booklet may be torn off, and no examination

booklet or part thereof may be taken outside the examination room.

(5) When an index number is used, candidates must not write their

names on any part of the examination booklet or make any mark thereon calculated

to disclose their identity to a marker.

(6) Candidates caught cheating, or attempting to cheat, during an

examination or in any way caught taking, or attempting to take, an unfair advantage

over other candidates shall be subject to disciplinary procedures as laid down in the

statutes, regulations and bye-laws of the University at the time of the examination.

Such candidates may have the results of all their examinations cancelled and they

may also be precluded from sitting for any other examinations offered by the

MATSEC Board.

Coursework

(1) When a syllabus for a particular subject requires the submission of

coursework, such coursework must be available at the candidates' school for

moderation by the Markers’ Panel.

(2) The coursework assessment marks awarded by the candidates'

schools must reach the MATSEC Support Unit by the date specified by the

MATSEC Board.

(3)

Coursework assessment marks shall be retained for the

Supplementary Session.

(4) Coursework assessment marks may also be retained for subsequent

sessions of the Examination, but the candidates may, at their option, present new

coursework.

(5) Private candidates are required to submit their coursework as

established by the MATSEC Board, with a dated endorsement showing where it was

carried out, by the date specified by the MATSEC Board.

(6) Private candidates who left school before 1994 will not be expected to

present their laboratory report books. Their mark will be obtained by pro-rating of

the written papers.

(7) Candidates who studied a subject which involves a practical at school

and are re-sitting the examination may carry forward the practical mark from a

previous session.

(8) Candidates who have never studied a subject which involves a

practical at school but have covered the coursework privately will be expected to

present their coursework to the MATSEC Board by the date indicated by the

MATSEC Board. Such candidates will be asked to attend for an oral examination

about their practical work.

Oral/Aural Components of the Examination

(1) Marks obtained in the oral and aural components of an examination

during the First Session shall be retained for the Supplementary Session.

(2) Candidates who re-sit an examination in subsequent years shall be

required to re-take the oral and aural components of that examination.

(3) A Supplementary Session for the oral/aural components shall be

made available to candidates who are marked absent for the First Session of the

oral/aural examination provided that they are either covered by a medical certificate

presented within three days of the oral/aural examination or they are absent for a

reason deemed valid by the MATSEC Board. Candidates who are absent for the

oral/aural examination in the First Session without a valid reason shall not be

awarded any marks and shall not be entitled to a supplementary oral/aural

examination.

Examination Materials

(1) No texts or dictionaries are permitted in the examination room unless

specifically indicated in the syllabus.

(2) With the exception of the part of Paper I in Mathematics for which a

calculator cannot be used, and unless otherwise indicated in the syllabus and in the

examination paper, the use of non-programmable electronic calculators is permitted

in Mathematics, science subjects and related subjects.

(3) Scientific and mathematical formulae shall be provided by the

MATSEC Board where appropriate.

(4) All work submitted in connection with the Examination, including

written work and coursework, shall remain the property of the MATSEC Board, but

may be returned to the candidates at the MATSEC Board’s discretion.

Candidates with Special Needs

(1) Candidates with special needs may be given the option to be

exempted from being examined in a particular component of the examination, such

as an oral or a practical examination. When candidates accept the option and their

mark is pro-rated to compensate for the missing component, their certificate shall be

endorsed as follows

‘Special arrangements were made to enable the candidate to be

assessed in this subject. Details may be obtained from the Registrar.’

(2) Such certificates shall only be issued as a last resort when ways

cannot be found of supporting candidates with special needs to satisfy examination

requirements.

(3) Applications requesting special arrangements shall be made on the

appropriate form, within the date stipulated by the MATSEC Board, and must be

endorsed by the Head of the candidate’s school and supported by appropriate

medical or other professional evidence issued within the two years previous to the

examination.

Quality of Language

Candidates are expected to bear in mind the necessity for good expression

and orderly presentation in their examination answers.

Language of Examination

The language/s in which the questions are set shall be indicated in the

syllabus of each subject. Candidates are required to answer in the language the

questions are set, unless otherwise specified in the examination paper.

Repeal

The Secondary Education Certificate Examination Regulations, 1995,

published as Legal Notice 111 of 1995, shall be deemed to cease to be in force as

from 31st December 2004.

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